Caudalie - Moisturizing Cream-Mask

Me and Caudalie go way back. I have used many of their products for quite some time now and I always come back for more. The brand doesn't use parabens, mineral oils or SLS which is a big plus! What they do use, are grapes full of anti-oxidants and many other natural ingredients like shea butter and plant oils. They manage to make really good products with an affordable price tag - something others should learn from.

The first Caudalie product I'm going to review, is the Moisturizing Cream-Mask. As the name suggests, it's meant to rehydrate and soothe dry skin. It's a creamy mask that you leave on for about 15 minutes and then wash off with water or remove with a cotton pad. Because my skin can be very dry, I even leave in on for 30 minutes or longer sometimes. Once applied on the face and around the eyes, the mask turns into a more oily consistency (probably due to grape seed oil) and sinks into the skin. My skin is very sensitive and I get blackheads quite easily, so when I read about an "oily consistency" I start to worry a bit. However - I have never had a problem after using this mask: no spots, no blackheads and no redness. After washing the mask off, my skin always feels more comfortable and the dehydration lines are gone or at least less visible. Since it's soothing as well, I imagine it would be great to use after a day on the beach when you've spent more time in the sun than you should ;)

The mask comes in a 50ml tube and will last you a while because you really don't need much with every use. It's a really lovely and light mask that does hydrate the skin and is free from many nasty ingredients. If you haven't tried Caudalie before - definitely do! Their products are widely available, reasonably priced and they have something for every skin type. But as always: get a sample first if you can! While it works for me, it might not work for you.

If you have any questions or want to suggest other moisturizing face masks - leave a comment and we'll get back to you asap! -L.

Rimmel - Kate Moss Spring Collection Lipstick

Yesterday L. wrote about one of his fave lipbalms (click!) so I've decided to stick with the 'lips' theme and today I'm coming with a review on one of my favourite products I've used during the summer - Rimmel's Kate Moss Spring Collection Lipstick in shade 16. As you can see, the packaging is quite neat, black with Kate's signature on top. It also closes with a 'click', so we don't need to worry it will open up in our purse.

Why do I like this product so much? Well, first of all, just look at the shade! It's a bright coralish pink, which reminds me of candy and just screams summer to me. I think this is a quite universal shade - suitable not only for evening but also for everyday. However, I don't imagine wearing it on a daily basis during winter, but that's just my personal preference. Because of it's creamy texture, the lipstick applies well and after a few glides, we get full coverage. Also, it smells a bit like strawberries which just adds to a pleasant application. ;) But! We need to remember about moisturising our lips before we put it on, otherwise it will exaggerate chapped and falky skin like every matt lipstick does! 

I wouldn't say the colour is long-lasting, but it does stay on for about 3 or 4 hours. Of course, if you eat, drink or talk way too much, you will need reapplying after a shorter period of time. It doesn't smudge all over the face, but it fades unevenly from the lips, so you need to check it up every once in a while if you're out. Also, after removal, lipbalm is necessary because the lipstick might cause a slight dehydration.. so better safe than sorry!

Overall, I really like this product by Rimmel and I will definitely take a look at other shades from the regular and spring collection. For a small price, you get a nice, wearable lipstick in an interesting colour! What's more to ask for? ;)

What was your favourite summertime lipstick? Feel free to share your opinions with us!

A.

Nuxe - Rêve de Miel Lip Balm

Nuxe - Rêve de Miel Lip Balm

Since I'm on strong medication for treating acne, my lips are dry almost all day every day. Annoying, right? Because of my little lip balm addiction, I've tried and tested a lot of products. There are only a few lip balms out there that can help my dry and flaky lips and this is definitely one of them. It might even be - dare I say it - my favourite lip balm I have used this far!

Before I move on to the real review, I want to talk about the two major groups of lip balms: the ones that treat lips 'from the inside' and ones that sit on your lips and protect them on the outside. The first category is amazing to use as a night treatment because these balms really absorb into the lips and treat them with smooth and plump lips as result. The second group of lip balms is often petrolatum-based and, for me, they barely ever absorb or make my lips much smoother. What they are amazing at, is protecting your lips from harsh weather. These won't improve the look of your lips very much, but they will prevent your lips from drying out and looking worse.

The Rêve de Miel lip balm belongs in the first category and is meant to treat lips (although it does a pretty decent job at protecting them too!). It contains many natural ingredients such as sweet almond oil, shea butter and honey. All these ingredients are amazing at making your lips soft and plump. When you apply this balm before bed, you'll wake up with really healthier looking lips in the morning: moisturized, repaired and smooth.

The balm comes in a little pot (15g) but will last you a long time. To me, it smells like oranges or grapefruits and - the best part - it's matt once applied on the lips! Not something you see very often, huh? Since I'm a guy and don't always want my lips to look like I have used gloss, it's a big plus! I can imagine girls liking this one too, because it smells divine and really makes a difference! Whenever I feel my lips are dried out and on the verge of cracking, I apply a bit of this balm and within a minute the uncomfortable feeling's gone. It's like a little lip miracle in a pot, to be honest!

So if you're in need of a good lip treating balm - definitely give this one a try! Nuxe also makes a stick version of this balm, but I don't find it nearly as good as the little pot (because of different ingredients). So if you're going to invest - the pot is what you want. Oh, by the way! The balm has no SPF in it, so if it's something you worry about then keep an eye on our blog since I'll review some of my favourite lip balms with SPF soon! -L.

Sephora - 2011 Makeup Studio Blockbuster Palette

When my interest in make up began to grow a few years ago, one of my wishes was to own a big palette full of eyeshadows and other make up goodies. Last year I made my dream come true by buying Sephora's 2011 Limited Edition Makeup Studio Blockbuster kit. Inside the neat black box we'll find 96 (!!) eyeshadows, 84 (!) lip glosses, 6 cream eyeliners, 3 blushes, 2 liner pencils, 1 bronzer and 1 mascara. The set also contains 4 small applicators (quite useless if you ask me). Sounds impressive, huh? However, after some time, the first excitement was replaced with a slight disappointment. Why? I'll explain in a bit.

The first thing you see when you open the black box with a Sephora sign carved on it, are the eyeshadows. The range of colours is huge (no surprise, since there are 96 of them, right?) so you'll find not only some neutral shades suitable for everyday make up but also some crazy and unique ones like mint or bright red. There is so much to choose from that I highly doubt I will ever use all of them! Too bad Sephora didn't provide a list of all the shades used in their kit, would be great to have some of them in full size. Unfortunately, the eyeshadows lack some quality. They don't last very long on the eyelids and quite a few of the colours, especially the brighter and matt ones, are poorly pigmented, as you can see on the swatches. That is why a primer is a must before applying these eyeshadows.

As we unfold the drawers, we discover the most useless, at least for me, part of the palette - lipglosses. So useless I didn't even bother to swatch them. Just like eyeshadows, the glosses have amazing colours! We have nudes, pinks, reds, purples and even some transparent shades. Some of the glosses give barely any colour and don't last for too long. I could even forgive these imperfections, but it bothers me that those lipglosses seem to be made for home use only. Try as you might, you won't be able to fit the whole palette in your clutch in order to touch up your lips when the colour fades away. So that's a huge no-no for me. I'd be more satisfied if we would be able to get them out of the palette, but unluckily for me, it's not possible. Even though I'm not keen on the glosses I'll do my best to use them, because so many beautiful shades can't simply go to waste, even if it's only for sitting at home

What saves this makeup kit for me, is the bottom drawer. This is the part I use most frequently and I'm quite happy with it. Here we'll find the blushes, eyeliners, eye pencils and the mascara. Before buying this palette I wasn't keen on applying some colour on my cheeks, but it changed thanks to those Sephora blushes (which were very hard to photograph btw!). The shades are well pigmented and seem suitable for my fair skin. My personal favourite is the bright pink blush. As far as the bronzer goes, it has shimmer in it so unfortunately it will not be useful for face contouring. That's a pity because it could have been a great product for fair complexions! Moving on to the cream eyeliners, it is another decent product that can be found in this kit. They apply easily and are nicely pigmented as well. Their longability is ok, however, they tend to smudge by the end of the day. Also, kudos for Sephora for interesting colours, it is rare to find something other than black and brown and in an affordable price! The eyepencils (black and brown) are quite similar, so there's nothing more I can really say about them. And, last but not least, the small mascara is quite a problematic piece. It didn't really work for me and gave zero effect to my lashes, but my friend, who also owns this palette, is very in love with it. Right now I use it to brush through my lashes before applying my current fave mascara. Once again, too bad Sephora didn't give the full name of the mascara for those who are satisfied with the product.

Overall, I don't regret buying this beautiful makeup palette. Even though I've expected something more of it, it is still something I use on a daily basis. This kit will be a great present for those who start their make up journey because it'll certainly help to choose colours that will compliment the eyes and skintone well. I'm certainly having a lot of fun with some of the crazy shades there! However, people who are more experienced with make up will be a little bit disappointed with this product. I'm not sure if this palette is still available at Sephora, since it's limited edition, but I did a little research before writing this review and I found out that the 2012 version is coming out very soon and it's not really different from the one I showed you today. 

What do you think of Sephora's Palette? Is it good for us, make up lovers? Do you like such wide ranged kits or do you prefer buying only your favourite shades in good quality? Feel free to comment and let me know what you think! Take care!

A.

Dermalogica - Gentle Cream Exfoliant

First of all - welcome to our new beauty blog! We are just starting this (hopefully) amazing journey of sharing our knowledge and opinions about beauty products with you, and we're aware that the blog still needs 'some' work. What more can I say? I just hope you'll visit us again and see us and our blog grow!

For my first review I've chosen a product I'm very passionate about and have used for quite some time now: the Gentle Cream Exfoliant from Dermalogica. Everyone knows that skin benefits from regular exfoliation. When dead skin cells accumulate on the surface of our skin, it can look quite dull and can even lead to break outs and blackheads when it starts to clog the pores.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of scrubs with exfoliating beads. I have delicate skin and most of these products are simply too harsh for me to use. This is why I'm very into chemical exfoliants such as the product I'm reviewing today. The Gentle Cream Exfoliant (GCE) is a face mask filled with exfoliating goodies: lactic (AHA) and salicylic (BHA) acids. What an AHA does, is loosen the bonds that hold the dead skin cells together. This way you'll wash all of them away while removing the mask. A BHA does a different thing: the salicylic acid goes into the pores and removes all the oil/dirt/... that's sitting inside the pore and can lead to blackheads. All this without rubbing and scrubbing! You just wash your face with a mild cleanser, put the mask on and wash it off after 15 minutes.

What can you expect after washing the GCE off? Fresher and brighter looking skin! Now, don't expect any miracles - it's nothing more than a chemical exfoliant after all. But with regular use you'll notice how much difference it's made to the way your skin looks and feels!

Last but not least - I find the product (as the name suggests) really gentle. The product contains soothing ingredients such as aloe vera and lavender oil. But as with any exfoliating mask the result will vary depending on how long you've left the mask on: if you have sensitive skin like me, don't leave it on for an hour because your face will be red and stingy! Just be careful and always get a sample first if you can. The GCE isn't very cheap, but even with regular use it should last you for a year. Also, compared to other exfoliating masks, the price isn't that bad either!

Should you have any questions - don't hesitate to ask in the comments! :) We'll be more than happy to help you! -L.